What are the Best Coconut Waters – We Rate 31 Brands

Best Coconut Waters

Updated 5.1.19 – added Festival

Full change list at bottom.

What are the best coconut waters? Judging by the amount of shelf space devoted to them in grocery stores, coconut water is a popular item. Not being a huge fan of the fruit, I had never tried it until it was recommended to me by several doctors. They extolled the virtues: low in calories, lots of electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no fat, no cholesterol and an easy way to hydrate. I decided to give it a try, so on the way home from an appointment one afternoon, I stopped and picked up a carton at Trader Joe’s. It was terrible; I nearly spit it out, and it was weeks until I gave another brand a try. The second was much more pleasant and easy to drink, which led me to investigate the wide variety of brands available.

Some of their websites promise all kinds of miracles. For example, CocoFresh claims to “help with rashes, kill intestinal worms, check urinary infections, is a tonic for senior citizens & sick people, cure malnourishment, treat kidney & urethral stones and eliminate poisons”. Another “increases semen, promotes digestion, and is a “proven pitta-pacifier” with a pranaropana-life-restoring-capacity”. Huh?

Over the last six months, I have tried many brands and have found a huge variation in taste. Some were too sweet, some bitingly acidic, others tasted like a chemical brew, and a few had little flavor at all. It occurred to me that it would be worth the time to do a taste test: What are the best coconut waters?

I held a tasting over three nights with 17 intrepid friends, rating 18 brands in a blind tasting (more brands were added in later tastings). Here are the results, from lowest score to highest. I need to mention one issue that gave me fits – inconsistency. At first, I thought I was losing my mind when I did tastings with the second and third groups – ratings were very different than the first group. After buying samples of the same water over three months, it became clear that aside from the big name brands such as O.N.E or Naked, the overall taste varied considerably from batch to batch. The smallest, least processed waters such as Harmless Harvest had a wide variation in taste, with two groups calling it the best, and two groups the worst. This is the reason you’ll see divergent comments in the ratings, but in the end, enough people participated in the tasting with samples from different sources so that the averages worked out. I discussed the issue with a couple of juice company representatives, and was told that “much like wine, the flavor of each coconut varies, especially from season to season and the age of the coconut”. Apparently, young coconuts are best for water whereas older once are best for industrial uses. In addition, some brands add “natural flavors” or sugar to ensure consistency between batches. Therefore, these ratings are subjective, based on the taster’s preferences, and the particular batch of water. I did go out of my way to buy one of each brand from three different stores.

One trend over the years since this report was first published is the rise of more “artisanal” coconut waters. For instance Trader Joe’s cheapest coconut water is rated dead last, but their refrigerated version earns a much more respectable 8th place. Vita Coco and Coco Community are the same company, but rate 15 and 1 respectively. Also, prices on coconut waters go up and down like the stock market. If you check different stores, you can find a price difference of $1 per can within the same brand. For this reason, though I update the prices regularly, you may find differences. One thing I did highlight is whether they have been pasteurized as this is thought to make a difference in nutritional value. Here is our list of the best coconut waters in order of preference from least to most favorite.

Not recommended:

Comments: I didn’t even bother to put this before the group. I’m sure I speak for all of them when I say this was the worst we’ve ever tasted. To be fair, they call this “juice”, not water, but it looks and is labeled much like their regular coconut water. The clear glass bottle is rather pretty with long strips of coconut floating in it, but that is where the good ends. It’s like drinking a mouthful of brown sugar – almost to the point of being syrupy. It also contains 5 grams of saturated fat and 10 grams of sugar in 9.5oz. Most coconut waters have 0 fat and 100 calories in a 16.2oz container. I’m not a fan of sweet drinks to start with, but I couldn’t finish the bottle. Don’t confuse this with Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water which is currently at #2 on this list.

Comments: The judging was universal – it was the worst of the entire group. We found it acrid and bitter, yet watery. I couldn’t drink the leftover water and ended up pouring it out. This is the non-refrigerated version.

24. Trader Joe’s Organic King Coconut Water –Cardboard container with an attached straw. USDA Organic, not from concentrate. Sri Lanka. $.16 oz. We were not impressed by yet another version of coconut water from Trader Joe’s.

Comments: “Ok”, “Unremarkable”, “Bland”, “Middle of the pack”, “Grassy”, “Simple”, “Gummy taste”, “revolting”, “Tastes like plastic”. [The comments above have been updated since they reformulated the product and it moved up the listings.]

Comments: “not a hint of taste”, “Not much fragrance”, “Icky”, “Unremarkable”, “Smooth, but so is water”, “Bland”.

13. Columbia Gorge Organic – Plastic container, organic, no additives, cold pressed, distributed refrigerated. Thailand. .27 per ounce. Information is sparse – not much on the web and CGO’s website is terribly outdated and not mobile friendly. I generally like CGO products but wasn’t impressed with this one. But the taste is what you are here for:

Comments: “Wow, I thought this would be better; it’s so bland”. “No depth… a very flat taste”, “The mouthfeel is a little off”, “$4! – It’s not worth it”.

12. Wild Harvest: 100% coconut water, no artificial colors/flavors, no preservatives. “Micro filtered”. 8oz can. $.10 per ounce. This is a recent entry that is showing up everywhere.

Comments: “Innocuous”, “Bland”, “Not unpleasant”, “Would do in a pinch”, “Price is right”, “Slight off taste”.

11. Festival Coconut Water: this brand has suddenly appeared in most major stores as well as online. The price is right – currently about $1.20 per 16.2 fl oz. 100% organic. Metal can. Thailand.

Comments: I haven’t run it by the full panel yet (we get together every six months), but here are my comments: Nutty, a bit too sweet, slight chemical aftertaste that turns me off a bit on the finish. Unremarkable overall.

10. Amy & Brian’s: Metal container, organic, no additives, flash pasteurized. $.17 cents per ounce. No GMO’s, no preservatives. When Re-tasted 2.19 the tasters weren’t as impressed because of the high sweetness – interesting as there are no added ingredients. We’ve dropped it to the “Fair” category.

Good:

9a. Kroger brand – Simple Truth: cardboard container, organic, no additives. Philipines. This was so similar to Thirsty Buddha (below) that we think it may be the same company. At $.89 it’s a good buy.

Comments: “Actually tastes like coconuts”, “Not as sweet as the others”, “Refreshing”. “Expensive for Trader Joe’s”

7. Obrigado: cardboard container. No additives/sugar. Water is processed without exposure to light or air, which is supposed to make it better.

We were surprised it didn’t place higher on this list, but the two samples we bought had a slightly off taste, with hard edges. Comments were all over the place: “Tastes more like home than most”, “a bit one dimensional but still good”, “doesn’t taste very coconutty”.

3. Harmless Harvest Coconut Water: never heated, sold in cold case. Plastic container, organic, no additives, cold high-pressure processed. $.32 per ounce. From Thailand. This water varies from an almost clear color to very pink, which they claim is from the antioxidants interacting with light. Note: This was number 16 during out test in 2015. Multiple tastings showed it seemed to vary widely from batch to batch. Though the company used to call their product “raw”, they have discontinued the phrase due to issues with the FDA. In 2016 the company was sued by a group claiming they were not really using organic coconuts, which they settled but denied any wrongdoing.

You can see why had trouble rating Harmless Harvest. Because of these differences from year to year, we feel this brand varies greatly between batches and is difficult to rate. Your experience may vary. Tip: you can get this at Costco in boxes of six (larger size) for <$13. It hides in the refrigerated foods area.

2. Taste Nirvana, Real Coconut Water* A best buy: Metal or glass containers, non-organic, no additives, $.18 per ounce. Thailand. (prices are steadily climbing on this brand (lately up to $3.29) but it is frequently on sale for around $2.00 a can. Thailand. Re-tasted 4.19)

Comments: “Would be great over ice”, “Toasty coconut”, “Nutty”, “Pleasant, smooth and balanced”, “Smooth”, “Nice mouthfeel and body”. Retested in 2019, it kept the same placement on this list, though we felt it lacked body.

1. Coco Community Organic Coconut water: Plastic container. From Thailand. Fair Trade, organic, no GMO. This coconut water is made by the same company behind Vita Coco, number 14 on this list. That is where the similarities end. This water is processed with the high-pressure process like Harmless Harvest and shipped cold.

There was quite a bit of debate as to the placement of Coco Community in the rankings. All agreed it was in the top three. In the end, the similarity between two different lots pushed it to the number one spot, as Harmless Harvest tends to vary quite a bit. Taste Nirvana drops one place, but still does well because of the taste/price ratio – it’s possible to find it for $2 a can, whereas Harmless Harvest and Coco Community cost much more. I haven’t been able to find this water in Portland, but it is available in the California Bay Area.

*HPP – Cold water high-pressure processing supposedly preserves the largest amount of taste, nutrients, etc. In 2015 the FDA banned products using this method from sale in the United States. This ban has now been lifted.

Updated 7/17 – Zico has a new formula. Updated 4/17 – Taste Nirvana changed the label, so we retested and found it the same. Also retested Harmless Harvest and found it better – it moved from #16 to #2, but it proves our point that it tends to vary widely from bottle to bottle. We moved it up with a comment.

Reader Interactions

30 comments:

Thanks for the review on coconut water. I have been drinking it lately because it is helping me stay very hydrated. I hated the taste of Zola. It was like drinking “the liquid in a can of corn”. Horrible taste. So far my favorite one and it is very satisfying is “Vita Coco”.

Thanks for the post. I’m from Barbados and grew up drinking coconut water fresh from the coconuts off of our trees every morning. Whenever we would travel to other tropical locals, we would drink coconut water there out of habit. In my experience, coconut water straight from the fruit varies greatly depending on several factors.

There are several different varieties of coconut. Just as you would expect a Granny Smith apple to taste different from a Honey Crisp apple, each variety of coconut has its own unique flavor. Within the same variety, coconuts tasted differently depending on where they where grown. I’m guessing the soil they grow in, the amount of sun and water they get even air temperature and humidity can affect taste. Lastly, the maturity of the coconut when harvested affects the taste. I’ve had water from coconuts from the same tree that was pink one week then opaque white the next or sweet then nutty.

The store bottled brand that most closely replicates cutting the top off of a coconut and enjoying whatever variation you end up with is Harmless Harvest hands down. None of other I’ve tasted are even close.

I just tried the Refreshe brand and it’s completely garbage. It almost has a sour sort of taste to it and at the beginning I thought it was spoiled but realized after reading various reviews it’s just plain horrible, overly processed and manipulated. It tastes almost nothing like real coconut water. Avoid this stuff like the plague.

You noted that Zico is from concentrate. The past few days I have bought one a day of that brand due to convenience. It is at every gas station which is no surprise since it is a Coca-Cola product now. Anyways the label shows no ingredients other than Coconut water. Label reads no sugar added, natural 100% coconut water, not from concentrate. Now they do have a line of flavored Zico but of course it has added sugars. I do not know if this is new labeling since your findings when doing the tasting show added sugar and from concentrate. The taste to me honestly isn’t bad. With that being said I am still on the hunt for Harmless Harvest and Taste Nirvana. I wish I could also find a good coconut water in bigger sizes like quart or half gallon. So far the only way I have found is to order online. Exotic Superfoods does sell a pure coconut water and it states that it may be pink. And it also explains why just as Daniel Giles states about him having drank fresh pink coconut water straight from the coconut. It comes frozen due to shipping. So for those that can afford that brand it does seem to be the most real deal coconut water available in larger sizes. I will be checking out our local health store for better brands.

Thanks for the note. You are right, Zico has tweaked the formula, and I will update our review. It is no longer from concentrate and is GMO-free. I bought a new bottle today and gave it a quick try. While I found the flavors improved, it still wasn’t as good as some of the others in the tasting, especially the finish. I’ll get all the tasters together early this Fall and we will do a new comparison.

Hi, being a Brazilian myself, once you drink coconut water from the source, everything else will fall short. I just tried the Obrigado brand and it is simple the best! You taste just coconut water, no can or metal taste and nothing else….

Exotic Superfoods is actually shipped frozen from overseas and has no additives or preservatives. This is as pure as you can get. This also explains the variations in taste and color. They don’t add anything in order to make the taste consistent like the other brands that can chemically alter it or add sweetener or preservatives. Ever wonder why some can stay on the shelf for months without refrigeration. Why does Zico need a new formula if it’s supposed to be coconut water. Go taste some real coconut water from a fresh young coconut and compare the brands.

My favorite and in my opinion the best available coconut water on the market is Cabana Coconut Water by The Pulse Beverage Corporation of Denver, Colorado. It’s not from concentrate, has no added sugar and is packaged at the source in Vietnam before shipping. It’s natural coconut water direct from young green prime coconuts.Why wasn’t it tested. Please include it!

I drink Coconut for health reasons, and I have tried most of them. It’s not mango juice, but the best of the bunch has been Obrigado. No metallic tast and it grows on you. I really like it but sometimes it’s tough to find.